Fashion retailer Lamoda secures incredible $130 investment

Russian fashion site Lamoda has secured a remarkable $130 million in the largest investment in the history of Russian e-commerce.

Since its launch in 2011, Lamoda has rapidly expanded into one of Russia’s biggest online retailers. This has been facilitated by the aggressive approach of its original backers, the German startup incubator Rocket Internet. Oliver Samwer, owner of Lamoda’s global network of companies and also head of Rocket Internet, said in 2011 that the firm needed to adopt a “blitzkrieg” approach to expansion. It seems to be working.

In 2012 Lamoda.ru turned over 5.9 billion rubles (≈ $200 million), putting it in 4th place in InSales.ru’s annual rankings for Russian online retailers. This is 23 places higher than the year before. The firm now has over 1,200 employees in Russia and Kazakhstan and its two Russian-language sites attract 20 million visitors every month.

This round of funding was provided by Leonard Blavatnik’s Access Industries fund, US investment company Summit Partners and German group Tengelmann. Lamoda.ru CEO Niels Tonsen (pictured) says that the investment will be used “to continue building our position as the leading fashion e-commerce retailer in Russia and the CIS”. One way they plan to do this is by extending their next day delivery service Lamoda Express to more parts of the country.